Whiteside targetting British title ahead of Commonwealth Games

Whiteside, a winner in the 51kg category two years ago, is among the star names competing at the GB Boxing Championships in Sheffield, next month.

Also on the entry list is European Champion Natasha Gale, with both her and Whiteside preparing for the event at a warm weather training camp in the Canary Islands with the GB Boxing Squad.

The championships pit the winners of the 2017 Elite Three Nations Competition – contested by the winners of the 2017 National Championships in England, Scotland and Wales – against a boxer from the GB Boxing squad.

Whiteside won the title in 2015 and is looking forward to her bout against Carly Skelly, on Thursday, December 7, at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield.

"The GB Championships is the biggest national event we have and it will be good to box at home in front of family, friends and local supporters," she said.

"We compete all over the world and very rarely in the UK, so this is an event that the boxers in the GB Boxing squad look forward to.

"This is our last competition of the year so I want to make sure I finish on a high and set myself up well for 2018.

"Next year is going to be a really busy year for the female squad, with the Commonwealth Games and both the European and World Championships, where we can start to build-up ranking points that will help us on the road to Tokyo and the 2020 Olympics."

The GB Boxing Championships features 16 fights, ten men’s weights and six for women, and acts as a showcase for those not currently part of the Olympic boxing programme to display their talents.

Sportsbeat 2017